Brad Garlinghouse Believes That The SEC vs. Ripple Lawsuit Could End This Year
The Chief Executive of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, believes that the nearly two year long lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and could be resolved before the end of this year.
Garlinghouse spoke with Fox Business correspondent Charlie Gasparino, and said that the company’s ongoing legal battle with the SEC has gone “quite well.” He pointed out that SEC vs Ripple lawsuit will set a precedent for the crypto space.
Garlinghouse said:
“The case has gone quite well, a lot of it has been skirmishes around discovery. But it’s clear that the judge understands that this is an important case and it is going to be a precedent. Now we’re getting close to summary judgment filings. Everything will be before the judge now by the end of November.”
To the question whether he believes the lawsuit could be concluded this year, he replied:
“That’s an optimistic view, but it’s not impossible.”
Last month, Judge Annalise Torres had made changes to the summary judgment briefing schedule. According to the new schedule, the motions for summary judgment presented by both parties must be fully briefed before November 15, 2022.
The judge will also review the case and give her verdict. Garlinghouse said that the of Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC will depend on how long the judge takes to review the case.
Is SEC Is Delaying the Case?
According to Garlinghouse, the SEC has been trying to prolong the case for as long as possible. He also argues that many of the talking points made by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler do not make sense.
The Ripple CEO said:
“He said a lot of things that I think are talking points that don’t really make a lot of sense. He says ‘justice delayed is justice denied’. Yet, they brought this lawsuit against Ripple and every possible juncture they have sought to delay the case and we’re trying to move as quickly as we can, we’ll continue to move as quickly as we can.”
Joseph Hall, an attorney and ex-SEC employee, in February made comments that Ripple seems to be leading in the lawsuit. According to Hall, there was no good reason for the Commission to file a case in the first place, and there is a “pretty good chance that they [SEC] lose all the merits” in the end.
